Device for protecting fruit in cans.



No. 783,167. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

- T. T. ATKINSONL DEVICE FOR PROTECTING FRUIT IN CANS.

- APPLIOATION FILED mm: 11, 1903.

IJNTTED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT UEEicE.

DEVICE FOR PROTECTING FRUIT IN CANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,167, dated February21, 1905.

Application filed June 11, 1903. Serial No. 161,002.

To (all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THoMAs T. ATKINSON, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices forProtecting Fruit in Cans from the Heat of Capping-Tools,of which thefollowing is a specification.

In putting up fruit and vegetables in metal cans for the market, as iswell known, the final step is to cap or close the opening in the topafter the can is filled with the fruit, in which operation the jointbetween the can-body and the cap or cover is soldered by means of asoldering-tool applied to the joint. This mode of closing and sealingthe can, however, is often attended with the serious objection ofinjuring the contents by the heat from the solderingtool, and it notinfrequently happens that on opening the can the contents will be foundto have an unsightly appearance, the result principally of the action ofthe heat from the soldering-tool upon the saccharine matter in the fruitor the syrup.

The present invention has for its object to prevent this burning orobjectionable action of the heat on the contents of the can during theoperation of capping or closing and sealing the top, as beforedescribed, thereby preserving the fresh appearance and natural conditionof the contents as demanded by the trade and the consumer; and to thisend and object the invention comprises a novel shield or protectorinsertible in place through the opening in the top of the filled canbefore the cap is placed on and by its form and its heat-resistingqualities adapted to keep the fruit from actual contact with the head ofthe can immediately under the region of greatest heat or the part lyingdirectly beneath the soldering-tool and at the same time shield orprotect the fruit from the heat given off by the iron.

The following description explains at length the nature ofthe saidinvention and the manner in which I produce, apply, and carry out thesame, the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, being referredto therein by letters.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a top view of a metal can of the well-knownform now generplaced in the can.

ally used in canning fruits and many other substances for the market andshowing my protecting device placed in.position between the top layer ofthe fruit and the head of the can before the can is closed. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the protecting device before being Figs. 3 and 4 aredilferent forms of blanks from which the protecting device may beproduced within the scope of my invention.

A indicates the head of a fruitcan of wellknown form, and B the groovein the metal around the opening C, in which the cap is fitted, and thejoint made in the usual way.

D is the protecting device, that is interposed between the'metalof thetop surrounding the opening C and the top layer of the fruit. In itssimplest form the device is a thin disk or plate preferably of circularoutline and in dimensions somewhat greater superficial] y than the sizeof the opening in the can, so as to extend beyond the line of the jointmade between the top of the can and the cap after being introduced andcentrally placed in position. To facilitate the work involved inintroducing the disk D in place through the relatively smaller openingin the head of the can, the disk is slitted from the circumferencetoward the center, as seen at (Z, Figs. 1 and 2, and an opening isprovided in the center both for greater convenience in handling andplacing the device in the can and also for more readily introducing thesyrup or liquid where the same is to be added to the contents before thecapping is done. This is the best form of the device where it is made inone piece. It can be inserted through the opening in the top of the canby a rapid and easy movement and brought in position in the center byintroducing one end at the slit (Z and giving the device a circularmovement.

The device can also be made in two pieces, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and4, where the pieces are sufiiciently smaller in one dimension to beintroduced separately through the opening and then brought to place, onecrossing and lying on the other. This construction enables scraps andsmall pieces of stock or material to be utilized for the purpose; butaside from the possible greater economy of their manufacture it offersno particular advantage over.

the form seen in Fig. 2, where the device is produced in the form of adisk. The purpose of the slit d in the form there shown is to facilitatethe insertion of the protector through the opening in the top of the canand enable the same to be readily introduced and placed without bendingor folding it, particularly where the same is made of sheet metal orsimilar stiff material that cannot be reduced in size by' bending orfolding sufiiciently to permit of its ready introduction through theopening in the can and afterward brought to the desired flat or expandedcondition to shield or protect the top of the contents lying directlyunder the line or region on the head of the can, where the heat of thecapping-tool is the greatest.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the forms of the sections composing the completeprotector are made with a vlew to provide an opening or openings inoraround the center for introducing syrup or liquid into the can afterthe protector is placed in position. The pieces or sections also are ofa size sufficiently less in linear dimension at their broadest part thanthe diameter of the opening in the top of the can to allow the pieces tobe inserted and brought to position between the top of the can and thecontents with which the can is filled.

The non-conducting quality of the device is increased by forming ribs orprojections on the top face of the protector, as seen at 0, Figs. 1, 2,and 3, as those ribs standing above the top face will prevent theprotector from coming in contact with the metal of the head around thecentral opening, excepting at the points where the ribs touch the head,and will thereby materially reduce the conductivity of the protectorwhere the same is made of metal.

Sheet-tin of the same quality as that used for the can is considered thebest material for making these protectors on account of its the qualityofthe contents either in appearance or flavor, and having besides therequisite heat-resisting properties, can be utilized for the manufactureof this protector instead of sheet metal. When made of any materialhaving less degree of conductivity than sheet metal and possessing alsosuflicient heat-resisting qualities to stand the direct contact of itstop surface with the metal of the can immediately under the line of thejoint between the head of the can and the cap, the ribs 0 may be omittedand the top face of the protector may come in contact at all points withthe metal immediately around the opening.

As thus formed or produced this protector is introduced through theopening in the head of the can after the can is filled and is brought toa central position, so as to interpose a practically continuous shieldbetween the contents and the under surface of the head of the can. Thecap is then placed in position to cover the opening, and theoperation'of soldering the cap is performed by bringing the filled andclosed can under the cappingtool in the usual manner. The protector remains inside the can until the latter is opened to remove the contents,and at that time the protector is easily removed through the largeropening made by cutting into the head with the can-opener. Usually theupward pressure of the fruit will be found suflicient to hold theprotector in place during the capping operation, and no special means isordinarily required to hold the device in position.

What 1 claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is p Theherein-described protector for the top layer of fruit in a fruit-can,comprising separate segments each of smaller superficial dimensions inone direction than the diameter of the opening in the can, and ofgreater dimensions in another direction than the size of said opening,said segments being adapted when inserted in the can to constitute aheatprotecting shield between the top layer of the fruit and the top ofthe can both within and beyond the line of the solder-groove in the headof the can, said segments having standing projections on the top face.

THOS. T. ATKINSON. Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, HARRY J. LASK.

